One of the significant challenges in marksmanship is holding the weapon steady while aiming. Even a slight movement of the human body, and hence the weapon, can reduce accuracy, particularly when shooting at long-range. Accuracy is improved by shooting in the prone position or by using some sort of gun rest. In certain circumstances, however, particularly in combat, law enforcement, and hunting, it is not practical to shoot from the prone position or look for a gun rest. The immediate circumstances demand that you rapidly shoulder the weapon and take aim, also known as shooting offhanded.
Offhand shooting is notoriously difficult, particularly at distance. Various devices have been developed in the past to provide support for a shooters forearm or elbow. U.S. Pat. No. 3,390,477 (Galbraith) entitled “Supporting Device for Sighting Firearms” describes an arm rest for supporting a gun in firing position. US Pub. No. 2009/0229162 (Loya) entitled “Shooting Support” describes a portable armrest fastened to the user for steadying the users arm when supporting a rifle. The shooting support described by Loya is an L-shaped support attached to the shooter's torso by a strap. It includes a simple hinge mechanism that supports an elbow support platform. Both the torso member and the elbow support member are fixed in orientation, other than the angle immediately between them. It is therefore relatively unadjustable and due to its shape and mode of attachment appears to suffer from limited stability as well. Accordingly, what is needed is a stable, attachable, shooting platform that can be readily folded so that it does not restrict the user's freedom of movement when it is in the stored position, but that can be readily deployed when needed. In addition, it should be easily and quickly adjusted in multiple dimensions to provide a stable, comfortable shooting position that works with the shooter's particular physiology.